A NEW PATHOGENIC BACILLUS 
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sugar-free bouillon (PeckhamY 9 formula*) was inoculated, one each day for ten days ; 
these were all tested at the same time by the addition to each tube of ten drops of 
chemically pure H,SO + and 1 ccm. of a o*oi per cent, solution of NaN0 2 . 
Formation of H Z S. The medium used was that suggested by Coutts 4 as very 
favourable (Witte's peptone 10 per cent., saturated solution iron tartrate o* 1 per 
cent., slightly alkaline to litmus) ; time of incubation, seven days. 
Thermal death point : Heating to 65° C for five minutes, or to 6o° C for twelve 
minutes completely killed the cultures. Heating to 6o° C for five minutes, was not 
sufficient to destroy the growth, many colonies appearing on plate cultures. 
Pathogenicity of Bacillus c L' 
Guinea-pigs, weighing 300 grms. or less, were killed within twelve hours by 
intraperitoneal inoculation ot one small loop of a sixteen-hour agar culture. Larger 
guinea-pigs were made very ill by a similar dose and showed marked symptoms of 
toxaemia, but eventually recovered. Bacillus 'L' was recovered in large quantities 
from the blood and organs of the dead guinea-pigs. 
Killed cultures : 5*0 ccm. of a killed bouillon culture, five days old, failed to kill 
a young guinea-pig. 
Feeding Experiments 
Two small rabbits, A and B, weighing respectively 284 and 386 grammes, were 
used for this purpose. They were fed daily with cabbage or bread, which had been 
soaked in bouillon cultures of Bacillus ' L.' 
Rabbit A, first fed January 10, 1902, 
January 13. Marked diarrhoea. 
14. Refuses food, very ill ; temperature subnormal. 
Died at 3 p.m. 
,, ,, Autopsy at once. Peritoneum normal ; ileum shows swelling 
ot Pever's patches and solitary follicles ; the large 
gland at the ileo-caecal valve was much swollen, and 
showed haemorrhagic points on its surface ; spleen not 
swollen. 
Cultures : Peritoneum, heart blood, spleen, gall- 
bladder, negative ; ileum, bacillus ' L ' in abundance ; 
mesenteric glands and bladder, bacillus 'L' in pure 
culture. 
* Beef muscle, 225^0 grms. Trypsin, 4 - o grms. NaCl, 5 - o grms. Waiter, iooco ccm. 
